


When Life Gives You Waves, Ride Them Out

by KaterinaRiley



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Gay Shiro (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, M/M, Minor Allura/Matt Holt, Minor Hunk/Shay (Voltron), POV Shiro (Voltron), POV Third Person, Surfer Hunk (Voltron), Surfer Lance (Voltron), Swim Coach Lance (Voltron), War Veteran Shiro (Voltron), YouTuber Lance (Voltron), Youtube AU, broganes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 02:52:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18512413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaterinaRiley/pseuds/KaterinaRiley
Summary: When Shiro comes back home after being honorably discharged, he meets Lance, who changes his world.Or: How Shiro attempted to get his little brother and his swim instructor together while at the same time trying to get the aquatics director (Adam) to get with him.--The next scene almost made him choke. That was him. And for the first time, he didn’t look at his body and think, ‘That’s not me, I don’t look like that.’“Hey guys, meet, Shiro,” video Lance said. “He’s my first job of the day, but really, it’s more like a privilege because it is absolutely amazing to spend time with him.”“Really?” video Shiro asked, looking surprised.“Of course! Dude, you’re so cool.” Lance swung his arm around Shiro’s shoulder. “Guys, not only is he a war veteran, but he can also speak Japanese, has a great sense of humor, loves cats just as much as I do, maybe more, and, well,” he shrugged, turning to look at Shiro in the eyes, “You’re also hot as hell, dude. Isn’t that right, Adam?!”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This lil bugger snapped onto my brain and wouldn't let go... I have another fic (well, several actually) in the works too, but I somehow doubt that'll be written as quickly as this...
> 
> Also, I tried for the life of me to add an actual emoji in this using All the EMoji by CodenameCarrot, but holy fuck I could not do it. I'm apologize now for the *emjoi here* format that I did

His morning started out quiet.

Quiet shower.

Quiet breakfast.

Quiet car ride.

He entered the indoor pool deck and it was…mostly quiet.

It was a little before ten in the morning and not many people occupied the indoor pool room, mostly older people, who shuffled across the slippery pool deck in a painfully mirroring manner to how he did. A few muffled shouts could be heard from outside, where the outdoor pool was, but considering it was January, there weren't many people out there either.

"Hey, are you Takashi?"

Looking up, Shiro saw a very tan, very bare chest in front of him. It was connected to short, bright blue swim trunks as well as dazzling, bright blue eyes. His very first thought was that his brother should  _not_ have stayed in the car.

"Uh, yes. Are you Lance?"

The man grinned. "The one and only. Did I say your name right?"

"Yes, but you can call me Shiro." He winced as a child's shrill laughter echoed around the pool walls. His chest tightened; old men and women lazily swimming in the lap lanes were one thing, but children? They always pointed and stared and questioned and it was  _too much_  and—

"Hey, Shiro? Are you okay?"

Lance was kneeling in front of him, his voice low and soft. He wasn't touching him, thankfully, but he was close enough that his presence was calming.

"Fine," he chocked out.  _Don't think about it. Nothing's even happened yet._ Taking a deep breath, he said, "Let's get started, yeah?"

After a moment's pause, Lance nodded. "Okay. We're in that far lane over there, with the ladder."

Stiffly, Shiro stood and hobbled over to the lane. For a second, it looked like Lance was going to offer his arm, but he didn't. Instead, he just walked slowly beside him, humming a quiet tune. Shiro was very grateful. It was already embarrassing enough having to move in with his baby brother since he couldn't do anything himself anymore; walking by himself was one of the only things he could do, even though that wasn't even very good anymore.

He used to be able to run for hours, over mountainous terrain or through slippery marshes, but now he was lucky to just be able to walk. The movement was slow and painful, and the doctor said that physical therapy would help him, and since there was a fucking metal rod in his leg, water therapy would be the best solution now that the stitches had been taken out.

"I like your rash guard, by the way," Lance commented, walking into the waters. "Purple is a good color on you."

Shiro glanced down, only partially hating the way his eyes would immediately go to his right arm—well, where his right arm used to be. The shirt's right sleeve, or rash guard's right sleeve, as Lance called it, had to be tied so the fabric wouldn't hang loosely. It hid the scarred stump from where the bomb had blown off most of his arm (and almost blown off his leg). He'd been told he was lucky, that he was just far enough away from it that he hadn't lost his life, unlike most of his squadron. He'd been honorably discharged, given the Purple Heart Medal, and sent off back to the states with a stack of Thank You notes and drawings from the medical staff and patients, adults and children, who he'd saved.

It had barely been a month and a half since the incident. He remembered it in flashes, and no, that wasn't a bomb pun. He remembered the sense of dread once he realized exactly what types of enemy planes were overhead. He remembered shouting at the doctors, screaming at them to grab who they could and run from the tents. His entire squadron scattered, going into the makeshift hospital bases, to warn and move as many people as they could.

Then he remembered a bright light, a cloud of dust, and the feeling like he'd been run over by a God herself.

He knew he woke up a few times as he was transported somewhere else because people told him and because he remembered screaming even though he hadn't actually screamed during the bombing.

He stayed at the hospital for a week before being flown to California and staying at another hospital for another week when the stitches on his arm got infected. Since his discharge, he moved in with his brother, and had been trying to put his life back together. He had therapy for his brain, therapy for his arms, and therapy for his legs, and now he was having water therapy too.

"Is it okay that I'm wearing this?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, it's totally, all right!" Lance assured quickly. Then, almost as if he forgot he was supposed to, he added, "Thanks, uh, thank you for your service."

Before he could respond just as awkwardly—he didn't know what to say to that; it was still too soon for him—a child's voice shouted, "Mommy, mommy! Where's his other arm!"

Shiro flushed, hunching over slightly. He used to love kids, but they had absolutely no filter. He heard the mom quickly shush her child, whispering something that Shiro could guess was along the lines of, "We don't point out things like that."

He saw Lance grimace, but he didn't make any comment. At least not until after the lesson, which was the longest forty-five minutes of Shiro's life. They did a lot of floating and light water aerobics and awkward small talk.

"Hey, Shiro, um, I have a, uh…I was thinking…" Lance rubbed the back of his neck, his towel wrapped securely on his hips. He sighed. "Okay, I'm just going to be blunt, I hope that's okay."

"Uh, okay…?"

He gestured to the family splashing in the shallow waters; one of the children was the one who had loudly asked his mom about Shiro's (lack of an) arm.

"They're here every day around the same time. And their kids are nosey little devils that every lifeguard complains about, sometimes other patrons do too."

Shiro glanced back at the kids, watching as a lifeguard scolded them for standing on the lane lines  _again_.

"If you still want me, then I propose we move our little dates to a different time. You're going to be coming here three times a week, unless you decide to go somewhere else, and I think it would be much more beneficial if it's just us. Is that okay?"

Just them. Those words made the Top Five Best Phrases Shiro's Heard in All His Life. Some of the other words included when his brother said "I love you" to him for the first time and when his parents said "We brought your favorite: peanut butter and pickle sandwiches with spicy chipotle chips" when they visited him in the hospital after immediately getting off their flight from Japan.

" _Yes_ ," he breathed out, not caring how needy he sounded. "That would be great, Lance. Thank you."

Lance smiled. "Don't thank me yet. I don't know how much of a morning person you are, but the best time for us to meet would be here at five AM."

"That's totally fine, I'll do it," Shiro said quickly. They parted away with a handshake and the promise to meet alone next time. There was a kick to his step as he walked out the pool doors that had absolutely nothing to do with the lesson he just had.

It wasn't until he was sitting in the car on the way home that he realized his brother wouldn't be so thrilled.

"Are you shitting me?" he groaned. " _Five AM_?"

"…Please, Keith?"

He stiffened, glaring at Shiro, but after a moment, the tension left his shoulders. With a sigh, he mumbled, "Damn you and your fucking eyes. Yes, yes, fine, I'll drive you to your swimming lessons at five AM…you owe me a coffee every day, though."

Grinning, Shiro suggested, "How about I buy you coffee on the days my lessons are on?"

"Ugh, fine, that works too." But there was no bite to his words. There hadn't been any bite to his words since Shiro's return.

The ride home was quiet, as it had been for the past month. Part of Shiro hated it; before, car rides with Keith were always loud, with either music blasting in their ears or petty debates being loudly shouted at each other, such as whether an adult should wear mismatched socks or not. But another part of him was grateful. He wasn't the same man he was before, and it would take time for him to embrace his other not-war, not-injured self again.

Their car rides might have changed, but Shiro wasn't about to let every other part of their dynamic change too.

"By the way," he sing-songed when they got back to the apartment. "He's exactly your type."

Keith frowned. "Who?"

"My instructor."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? Is he a giant douchbag who constantly cheats on me? Because apparently  _that's_ my type…"

It was Shiro's turn to roll his eyes. "You and James broke up almost two years ago, and just because I'm living with you now doesn't mean you can't try to have a dating life."

"First off," he held up one of his fingers. "I told you that I don't  _want_ anyone right now. I'm giving all my attention to you because you're my brother and I love you and you deserve and are worth of my full attention."

(Shiro wondered if Keith added that last part because of the therapist he'd been seeing to help understand and accommodate Shiro's war-trauma needs.)

"Second," he continued, now holding up two fingers. "Before James cheated on me, there was Luke, who cheated on me with  _three_  other 'boyfriends', Walter, who had a  _meth lab_ in his apartment and would literally kick puppies for fun, Spencer, who broke up with me  _in the middle_  of fucking someone else, and Laura, who at least had the balls to admit me to she cheated and we broke up amicably."

"I highly doubt Lance will do any of those things. Also, you dated Laura for, like, two weeks in sixth grade before you realized you were gay."

He shrugged. "It's still cheating. And third, I've got a business to run. Crossfit Voltron needs all the attention it can get too."

"You could always hire more people…like I've been telling you to do…"

He glared, though there wasn't any fire behind his eyes. "If you still want me to make your favorite for lunch, I'd shut up right about now if I were you."

Shiro laughed, but he didn't press the subject any further.

Until his next lesson that is.

"Are you  _sure_  you want to stay in the car?" he asked for the fourth time.

" _Yes."_  Keith yawned. "I'm going to take a nap. Now go away."

With a shrug, Shiro muttered, "Fine, your wedding you're missing out on," and walked towards the gym's back doors, where Lance had instructed him to go to. It was propped open when he got there, so he slid on his, adjusting the bag on his shoulders.

When he entered the pool doors, he was a bit surprised, as well as slightly peeved, to be honest, to see Lance talking to someone—he'd been assured they'd be completely alone.

"Shiro!" Lance called out, waving him over. "Good morning."

"You're chipper," he commented as he walked up, eyeing the second person. He had tan skin too, but a different shade to Lance's, and his hair was lighter. He had time to think  _Oh, god, he's cute_  before Lance was talking again.

"Comes with the job," he shrugged. Gesturing to the other person, he added, "This is Adam, the aquatics director here. He  _has_ to be here, even though I assured him I'm perfectly capable of doing any rescuing." Rolling his eyes, he leaned in and staged whispered, "I've been a lifeguard for nine years now. That's nearly a decade." In a normal voice, he said, "But don't worry, Adam'll be cooped up in his office doing paper work and other boring stuff, so it really will feel like it's just the two of us."

Shiro swore he saw Lance visibly fight off the urge to sing, "Just the two of us~ We can make it if we tried~" and if he had any doubt about how well he and Lance would get along once they were alone, it was gone now.

They were going to be great friends.

Offering his left arm, Adam smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Shiro."

"You too, Adam," he said, his thoughts racing. Adam offered his  _left_ arm, he had a  _dazzling_ smile, and he wore  _glasses_. Fuck, he wasn't just cute; he was  _hot_ and  _exactly_  Shiro's type. He made a mental note to talk to his therapist about him. Like, specifically, how long did she think Shiro should wait before asking him out.

" _Eu te disse que ele era seu tipo_ ," Lance said, smirking at Adam.  _[I told you he was your type.]_

Frowning, Shiro asked, "Was that…Portuguese?"

Adam's face reddened. "C-Can you speak it?!"

"No, but I've been watching some language learning YouTube videos." He left out  _Because I have way too much time on my hands and taking naps only leads to nightmares_.

"Oh, that's really cool!" It seemed genuine, but he also looked really flustered. Turning to Lance, he hissed, " _No vuelvas a hacer eso, eso fue demasiado cerca_."  _[Don't do that again, that was too close.]_

"Okay, that was Spanish, I know that…"

Lance laughed, waving his arms. "Okay, okay, enough language learning. Adam, you're taking precious time from my lesson. Go to work. Shiro, let's get in the water."

He'd been right; not only was this time much less awkward, despite him still struggling to float and do basic water aerobics moves, but also their conversations ran so much smoother. Shiro found himself laughing and grinning more times than he had with any of his other therapists.

"So how many languages can you speak?"

"Fluently?" Lance asked, his hands hovering under Shiro's body as he attempted to float. "English and Spanish, but I'm learning Portuguese cuz Adam—" he paused when his hands lightly touching Shiro's back, keeping him afloat for a few seconds longer "—Adam bet I couldn't do it in a year. I've got about seven months left. Also, I've been trying to learn Samoan for my best friend, but he's a shit teacher to be honest. What about you?"

Standing back on his feet, he replied, "I can only really speak English and Japanese."

Lance gasped. "Japanese? That's so cool! I've always wanted to learn it, to be honest. How'd you get into it?"

"Well," he shrugged. "I was actually born in Japan, and didn't move to America until I was ten."

"What? No way!" Lance grinned, pointing at himself. "I moved from Cuba to America at ten!"

"That's crazy!" he agreed, laughing. "Your family didn't also happen to adopt a boy when you were twelve, did they?"

Shaking his head, Lance said, "Ah, no. Sadly, this is where our familial similarities end. My youngest brother is five years younger than me; he just started sophomore year at the university last fall…wait, why are you grinning?"

"Keith is five years younger than me too."

"Oh, my god!" Lance flailed a bit in the water, causing Shiro to laugh even harder. "Shiro! The universe is basically telling us that we're meant to be friends, like, we  _have_ to be friends, we're almost the same person!"

"Hey, Lancey!" someone called.

Shiro froze, his grin fading. Why is someone here so early? They sounded like a child. Why was a child here so early? Didn't they have school soon? Why did Lance seem so excited? Why—

"Whoa, hey, Shiro?" Lance asked, voice soft. His hands were raised in a placating gesture and he was standing closely, but, again, he wasn't touching him. Vaguely, Shiro wondered if Lance knew someone who'd gone to war too. "I should've told you about the swim team, that's completely my fault, I'm so sorry. But I want you to meet Ollie. Is that okay?"

"S-Sure," he said after a minute, hating that he had to choke the word out. He waited until Lance got out of the pool, which he did after nodding and offering a soft smile, before turning around. His jaw nearly dropped when he finally looked at the newcomer.

"Ollie," Lance greeted. "Come here, I want you to meet someone."

As he slowly climbed the pool steps, Shiro watched the kid practically  _skip_  over to them. Well, not kid. He was definitely a teenager, but now that Shiro was twenty-nine, almost thirty, anyone who couldn't legally drink in America was basically a kid to him.

"Shiro, I'd like you to meet Ollie," Lance introduced. "He's one of my best swimmers. In fact, last year, he won us the silver medal in the butterfly!"

"Us?" Shiro found himself asking, his eyes trailing over to the other kids who were filing onto the pool deck. They all looked to be about Ollie's age—upper high school—and most of them were yawning and wearing sweats.

"Yeah, we're the Tiger Sharks," Ollie explained. "We're a competitive swim team. And Lancey is our coach!"

He forced himself not to look down further than Olli's face. He hated when people starred at his (lack of an) arm, and he was  _not_ about to do the very thing to this kid.

"That's awesome," he said, genuinely. "Congrats."

"Thanks! Well, it was really great meeting you, Shiro. But I have to go take this off and get warmed up." Ollie waved goodbye and walked over to the deep end of the pool. Sitting down, he took off his prosthetic leg, making sure to tuck it out of the way so people wouldn't trip on it, before sliding his way into the pool.

Vaguely, he wondered if Ollie had born only half a left leg, or if something happened to him. He wasn't ever going to ask.

"Cool kid, isn't he?" Lance asked, nudging Shiro slightly.

"Yeah…" He looked over at Lance again, taking note of how his eyes were filling with pride as he watched Ollie—all the kids really—jump into the water and start swimming.

"I started teaching here as an assistant when I was still at the university," he began, not taking his eyes off the kids. "And Ollie desperately wanted to be on the competitive swim team. He was an amazing swimmer, but he didn't know how to dive off the blocks without hurting himself. It took almost all year, but me and him finally managed it. By then, the old coach was retiring, and I was hired, and  _boom_ , Ollie was on the team."

Shiro couldn't help saying, "You look like a proud parent right now, Lance."

"I  _feel_ like a proud parent."

Just then, Adam came out of his office. "Now who's not doing their job, Lance?" he asked, laughing.

With a roll of his eyes and a wave of his hand, Lance put on his tank top and walked over to the swimmers. He pulled out an Expo marker from who-knows-where and began writing on the white board.

"I hope this was better for you. Lance told me about what happened earlier," Adam said softly. Then, he blushed. "Uh, I mean, he told me like as an employee to a boss, not like, not like he was gossiping about you or anything."

Shiro smiled at how flustered Adam was. It was sweet that he cared. One day, when he felt like he was ready, he was going to ask him out.

"That's okay, I understand," he said softly. "Thanks for letting us meet this early."

"Of course."

That become his new morning routine for the next few months. Wake up early, swim with Lance, talk to Adam while drying off and watching the kids swim for a bit, and then go back to the car to wake up Keith so that he could drive them back home and get ready for the rest of the day, which usually involved more therapy, both physical and mental, before collapsing in his bed and watching YouTube videos until he would finally fall asleep.

One day, halfway through April, the routine changed.

"Hey," Lance greeted, somewhat shyly. In his hands was a camera. A fancy camera. "Can I ask a favor?"

"You can always  _ask_ …" Shiro eyed the object. "Doesn't mean I'll agree."

He huffed, a smile pulling at his cheeks. "Very true. Okay, so, I have this YouTube channel," he explained, seeming a tad embarrassed. "And one of my video series is A Day in the Life, and I was wondering, if it's okay with you, if maybe I can record, like, ten seconds of our lesson today? I won't show your face, if you don't want me to. Or anything, if you'd prefer that too."

He thought about it. He was wearing his shirt and he'd gotten really good over the past few months, and honestly, how many followers could Lance even have?

"Yeah, okay," he agreed. "Sure, ten seconds."

And that was that.

Or so he thought.

Precisely one week and three days later, Lance texted him with the video link. It appeared he'd just posted it, and, despite it being early on a Saturday, Shiro was up, so he clicked the link.

" _Morning…"_ video Lance mumbled, rubbing his eyes with one hand. His hair was a complete mess and he was sitting in his bed.  _"So, you guys wanted another Day in the Life video—"_ he yawned  _"—so here it is. Today is Wednesday and the time is…four…AM…"_ He shook his head a bit, not looking any more awake.  _"Okay, I can do this…I can…do this…"_

Groaning, video Lance got off the bed, slightly stumblingly into what looked like his bathroom. With another yawn, he said,  _"Alright guppies, see you in half an hour,"_ and then covered the lens with his hand. Within a second, he uncovered it, looking more like the Lance Shiro was used to.

" _Welcome back, guppies! It's now four twenty-nine, and I'm all dolled up and ready to ride today's wave!"_

Shiro had a feeling that those keywords—guppy, wave—meant something, but it was only just past seven his time, so he didn't think too much into it.

" _You all have already seen my morning skincare routine—_ " leaning into the camera, he fake whispered _"—but if you haven't, just click right up there."_ He pointed toward the corner, where a pop-up featuring Lance's face covered in green goo appeared.  _"So, I'm not showing you that today. Sorry, guppies."_

After turning the camera around, Shiro watched Lance walk into the kitchen and open the fridge.  _"And now, I grab my breakfast that I made last night and head out the door to…"_ he did a twirl, which only made Shiro a little nauseous, before announcing in a very superhero-like way,  _"THE POOL!"_

Video Lance had grabbed what looked like a protein shake and a container filled with some quiche slices and strawberries. The next scene was him in the car, singing along to some music and drumming his hands on the steering wheel. He had a really amazing voice.

He added  _Can sing_ to his mental list of reasons, which was growing longer and longer each time he saw him, to why Keith needed to meet Lance and date him up.

Lance's video cut to him walking up to the pool.

" _Ah, hello my second home away from home,"_ he said, off camera.  _"My, you're smelling awfully chlorine-y today."_

A figure emerged from the other side of the pool deck.  _"Oh hey, there's Adam—"_ Lance's hand came into view, his finger pointing at the figure  _"—he's the aquatics director here, and for you older viewers, he's also the one that bet me I couldn't learn Portuguese, which, as you all know from my other video series, I am…mostly succeeding at that…"_

The camera turned around, Lance's face coming into view.  _"Guppies, we are_ not  _telling Adam about that_ one  _fiasco, okay? Okay._ " Another pop-up appeared, this time with Lance's face looking extremely flustered next to a photo of Brazil's flag. While curious, Shiro wasn't invested enough to click on it.

The next scene almost made him choke. That was  _him_. And for the first time, he didn't look at his body and think, ' _That's not me, I don't look like that_.'

" _Hey guys, meet, Shiro,"_ Lance said, echoing Shiro's memory from that day. Shockingly, he didn't look as awkward on camera as he'd felt ten days ago. He was even smiling a little.  _"He's my first job of the day, but really, it's more like a privilege because it is absolutely_ amazing  _to spend time with him."_

" _Really?"_ video Shiro asked, looking surprised.

" _Of course! Dude, you're so cool."_ Lance swung his arm around Shiro's shoulder, something he'd only recently started doing, once Shiro had made the first contact. He'd quickly found out that Lance was a huge tactile person—always hugging or touching those he was friendly with in some way.  _"Guys, not only is he a war veteran, but he can also speak Japanese, has a great sense of humor, loves cats just as much as I do, maybe more, and, well,"_ he shrugged, turning to look at Shiro in the eyes,  _"You're also hot as hell, dude. Isn't that right, Adam?!"_

The video panned to Adam, who jerked in surprised, cheeks turning red.  _"I… What? I mean, uh, yes, he's…um…you're…attractive…yes…"_

Lance laughed, turning the camera back on himself and winking. The next scene was a few seconds of both he and Shiro in the water, dancing to some music.

Shiro couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face. It was Adam's reaction to Lance's question that caused him to get up the courage to as him out. Sure, Shiro's gaydar was pretty accurate—though it was better for judging non-straightness for  _other people's_  love interest, not his own—but he still wanted to be sure before he asked Adam out. And he wanted to be sure he was ready.

"Would you like to have dinner with me?" he'd asked him quietly once Lance was out of earshot, writing the morning's workout on the whiteboard. "Just us. I think you're attractive too."

And god, Adam's blush would've made pre-war Shiro want to tackle the man down and kiss him until he couldn't remember his name anymore. But Shiro's not quite that man anymore. And there were kids around.

" _Yes_ ," he'd breathed out, eyes wide. "Yes, Shiro, I'd really love to have dinner with you."

He smiled, but knew there was still one more thing that needed to be heard. Clearing his throat, hating to ruin the romance, he added, "I, um, I'm going to be upfront with you now. I'm still… I've only been back a few months and I know that I really like you, but I also know that I'm still…not fully myself. And I'm going to need to go very slowly."

He didn't mention how there might be times he couldn't get out of bed for hours from the pain. Or from the nightmares. He didn't mention how sometimes Keith would find him wondering though their place, muttering about bodies and bomb and blood, completely unaware that he was no longer there.

But then Adam had said the words that made it to the Top  _Three_  Best Phrases Shiro's Heard in All His Life: "We can go as slow as you need."

Shiro was hook, line, and sunk.

They'd gone out for dinner that Saturday, a week ago, and it had gone really well. Anything and everything from childhood pets to favorite foods to astrophysics was discussed. It wasn't until their waiter politely told them the restaurant was closing that they'd realized how much time had passed. They didn't end the evening with a normal kiss. Standing in front of Shiro's apartment door, Adam had brought Shiro's hand to his lips and kissed him goodnight, which flustered him much more than it should've, but he absolutely loved it. Keith still hadn't stopped teasing him about it.

They'd planned for another outing today actually, going to see a surfing competition. Adam said he was originally going with some friends of his, so Keith was also welcome to come. It was going to be starting at 10 AM.

" _What are you sharks doing?"_ video Lance asked, bringing Shiro's mind back to the present.  _"I know you haven't finished those laps yet…"_

The scene only lasted a few more seconds, and while none of the kids' faces were shown, Shiro managed to identify Ollie as one of the kids nonetheless. It brought a smile to his face.

The next few scenes were more of Lance's swimming lessons, but they were all children, so you could only see their backs.

" _Okay,_ " Lance said, sitting down in his car, ruffling his wet hair.  _"Now, it's lunch, then shower, then nap time. And, guppies, it's only ten AM! I still have so much of the day to swim."_  He winked, putting his hand back up to cover the lens.

A pan filled with stir-fry filled the screen; it sizzled. Shiro's stomach growled, reminding him that he's been awake for about an hour now and still hadn't eaten yet.

" _Alright, guppies,"_  Lance yawned, his hair wet. He seemed to be back in his room.  _"Now I take a nap. See you all at one…"_

When Lance removed his hand from the camera next time, the ocean came into view.

" _Isn't she beautiful, guppies?"_ Lance asked, his voice soft.  _"I wish I could be here all day…"_

Then, suddenly, Lance was in the ocean. No, wait, he was  _on_ it. He was surfing! And he was absolutely amazing. Shiro watched, wide eyed, as Lance hollered and rode each wave, wiping out a few times, but laughing nonetheless. He seemed so alive out there.

The next scene was Lance ordering drive through from some place that he blurred out. Then, he was back at the pool, with the same swimmers from this morning.

" _Three thirty, and we're back at the pool!"_ Lance's voice sang out.  _"These kids don't quit, and they're honestly some of my personal heroes, if I'm being honest."_ He paused then and the camera turned to show Lance's face again. He was smiling softly. _"Shiro is too. The guy from this morning."_

Shiro gasped. Lance thought of him as one of his heroes? His first thought was that he didn't deserve to be thought of so highly. His next thought, which sounded suspiciously like his therapist, was that he was so honored that Lance considered him to be a hero, and he hoped one day he could feel like he deserved that.

" _By the way guys,"_ video Lance said, shifting the mood from earnest to light-hearted again.  _"These sharks swim from six AM to eight AM every weekday morning! Well, most weekday mornings, and then they come_ back  _to swim from three thirty to five thirty. Now that's dedication, guppies! Tell me what your dedications are down below in the comments!"_

The next scene showed Lance and a few people Shiro guessed were his friends out eating at a restaurant he's seen before, but couldn't put his finger on where it was. They were laughing, grinning at each other with the ease and love that Shiro used to do with his friends.

Pausing the video, Shiro set his phone down, taking a deep, shaky breath. His scrunched his eyes shut. Memories of laughter and game nights and adventures bubbled underneath his skin.

"It's okay to miss you," he said aloud. "It's okay to mourn for you. I wish you were still here. I miss you all so—" he choked. After a few minutes, he said, "But I will not stop living because you cannot. I will live for you, laugh for you, and love for you."

Adam's smiling face came unbidden to his mind.

Finally, he reached for his phone and pressed play. There were only a few minutes left of the video. The scene that came up with Lance playing some sort of video game that he thinks Keith also plays, but he's not sure.

" _There you have it, guppies,"_  Lance said, back in his room. There were trophies behind his head, as well as a giant wall-tarp thing (he's seen the advertisements for it, but never cared to actually read what they were called) that featured the ocean.  _"And it's now…almost nine, and I'm beat."_

He snorted.  _"Can you believe I used to be a night owl? Yeah, seriously. But now, at the tender age of twenty-four, I'm an old merman. It's not even the double digits, and I want to sleep."_ With a shrug, he continued.  _"But my Thursdays don't start quite as early—eight AM, if you're curious—which,"_ he frowned and shuddered.  _"I'm now considered eight AM to be sleeping in…if only my high school and college self could see me now…"_

The screen turned black and white and Lance moved in slow motion as the audio, "Hello darkness my old friend~ I've come to walk with you again~" played. It only lasted for as long as the song lyrics.

" _Alright, guppies, that's it for now! Thanks for watching A Day in the Life, and don't forget to subscribe for more! Swim easy, my guppies, and remember: You are like the ocean—beautiful, mysterious, wild, and free. Love you!"_

After blowing a kiss at the camera, Lance's face disappeared. Shiro liked the video, added it to his favorites, and after a moment's pause, commented:

> **Tired Space Dad** _1 second ago_
> 
> I'm honored you consider me to be one of your heroes. You've been a great help and a wonderful friend to me throughout these months. You've also been keeping your amazing surfing skills a secret from me! I'm only partially hurt. (Get it? Partially? *arm flexing emoji*)

Then, he closed the app, stretched, and got out of bed. Walking was much easier now, thanks Lance and his other therapies, but standing in the shower without moving still made his leg stiff, and he took twice as long to shower now that he only had one hand, his left, so he preferred to give himself ample time to clean. By the time he was out, Keith was in the kitchen, making coffee.

"You're up early," he commented.

Shrugging, Keith said, "Well, since the thing you're dragging me to is at ten, I have to get up earlier to do my run."

Rolling his eyes, Shiro reminded, "I'm not  _dragging_ you anywhere, Keith. And when I told you about the surfing competition, you seemed pretty excited to go to it."

Keith's face turned red. "No, I didn't!"

"Uh-huh. Sure…"

He laughed as Keith stormed out of the house, grumbling, "See if I ever make you coffee again, asshat."

By the time he came back, a little over an hour later, Shiro proudly showed him the breakfast he'd made: cheesy, scrambled eggs with bacon and toast.

"It doesn't count when the cheese is pre-shredded and you just have to put the bacon in the microwave for, like, three minutes," Keith said, but he was grinning, and his hand rested on Shiro's shoulder for a few seconds.

That was a difference between him and Lance, Shiro had realized. Lance touched people as often as he could, high fives, fist bumps, side hugs, full hugs, shoulder nudges, you name it, but Keith only touched someone else when he was feeling very strongly. A shoulder squeeze meant that he cared. A punch to the face meant that he didn't. He wasn't the hard-to-read book most people thought he was…he was just written in a language not everyone knew existed.

"Adam said he'd pick us up at nine forty-five. Will you be ready by then?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Of course."

He was indeed ready, walking about of his room just as Shiro opened the door to let Adam in, but he had to do a double take when Keith emerged. He wore [short Hawaiian style swims trunks](search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS755US755&biw=1280&bih=578&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=N9G0XOfeDYuUsAfE6ICgCQ&q=men+swimsuit+styles+fashion&oq=men+swimsuit+styles+fashion&gs_l=img.3...3675.5428..5730...2.0..0.288.1330.7j0j3...1...1..gws-wiz-img...0j0i30j0i24.82cz6ujYzdE#imgrc=12ud2MhNd-L0HM:), black being the background color while the flowers were red, white, and orange with light green leaves, accented with yellow. His tank top was black, minus the red V resting on his upper chest; it was one of his crossfit Voltron shirts, which sold surprisingly well to members and nonmembers alike. But the most surprisingly thing was that his hair was brushed and shiny and handing down by his face, rather than pulled into a low ponytail.

"Who are you and what have you done with my I-don't-ever-care-how-I-look brother?"

"Ha ha." He folded his arms across his chest. "Can we go now?"

"When did you buy those shorts? I know I haven't seen them before." He gasped. "You bought them just cuz of the surfing competition we're going to, didn't you?

He was blushing again. "I was meaning to buy new swim shorts anyway, and the competition just gave me an excuse." He glowered at Shiro's grin and shoved past him and Adam. "Whatever, it's no big deal, come on, let's go."

"Uh, he's…" Adam trailed off, looking like he wasn't sure whether to laugh or actually be concerned.

"It's okay," Shiro said shaking his head and shutting the apartment door. "Keith gets a bit harsh when he's embarrassed."

They started walking to the car, where Keith was still glowering.

"Why's he embarrassed?"

Grinning, he admitted, "No idea, but I can't wait to find out."

He found out just a few hours later, after the surfing competition. Watching it was a little confusing, partially because he really had no idea just how surfing competitions worked, but mostly because, for some reason,  _Keith did_. Adam tried to explain it, but Shiro was more interested in watching the surfers, especially the one in white and blue that looked so familiar, but he couldn't quite place him yet because he was too far away.

Allura, Matt, and "Pidge" were the three friends that Adam was meeting, and they were all cheering on their friends: Hunk and someone they kept calling The Shark. Adam's eyes glistened mischievously each time he did, but Shiro couldn't figure out why.

But it all made sense when the winner was finally announced: the white and blue clad one. And it was Lance McClain.

He immediately turned to Adam. "You knew!" he accused, gently nudging him. "Why didn't you tell me Lance was in this competition?"

"Wait,  _what_?" Keith stepped forward, looking slightly pale. "Lance McClain? You  _know_  Lance McClain?"

Shiro frowned. "Yeah, he's my swim instructor. You know this."

But Keith's eyes were wide. "No, no, no. No, you said his name was Lance, not Lance  _McClain_!"

Allura, Matt, and Pidge were giggling behind them, giving each other knowing looks.

"Why is that important?" he asked, but right then, Lance was running up to them.

"Oh my god! Shiro, you came!" Lance shouted, holding his giant trophy. His suit was unzipped, resting low on his hips, and a lei was around his neck.

Adam was laughing, "I told you I was going to invite him."

Then, it seemed like Lance noticed Keith, who's face had taken that blank expression Shiro knew to mean he was  _freaking_.  _out._

"O-Oh," Lance said, eyes wide. He glanced down, but his eyes quickly snapped back to Keith's. "Hi. You must be… Uh, are you Shiro's brother?"

"Yeah. I'm Keith." He was standing stiff as a board.

While his mouth was opened, Lance didn't say anything for a moment. But finally, he squeaked out, "Hi."

Keith's lips twitched. "Hey."

Shiro was doing everything he could not to laugh and ruin this moment. He knew—he fucking  _knew_ —that Lance was Keith's type. And, as it turned out, Keith was Lance's type too. Glancing over at Adam, he could tell that his date was thinking the same thing.

"Aw, man, Lance," someone's voice said, breaking the adorably-cute-but-okay-this-is-lasting-too-long-and-now-it's-getting-a-little-awkard-for-the-rest-of-us moment. "Dude, you were  _awesome_!"

"Hunk!" Lance shouted, turning around. Shiro watched as his brother's eyes immediately went down to Lance's ass. "You were great too, dude. I mean, third place!"

The man, Hunk, shrugged, but he was smiling. He wore a black and yellow suit, which was still zipped up. "Yeah, but I'm starving. Who's ready for lunch?"

"Hunk, you're always ready for lunch," Pidge said, rolling her eyes. Her stomach growled though.

"And you are too! So, let's go. The usual place?" He turned to Shiro, "I'm Hunk, by the way, it's nice to officially meet you. I saw you in Lance's video before hitting the waves."

He smiled. "It's nice to meet—"

"You're in one of  _his_ videos?" Keith asked, his voice rigid. For a moment, Shiro was sure his brother was about to have a heart attack.

"What's wrong with my videos?" Lance asked, frowning.

Keith's head snapped back towards Lance so fast that the thought of Keith breaking his neck passed though Shiro's thought process too.

"Nothing," he said quickly. "They're fine."

But Lance's frown didn't leave.

_Oh, shit._ Shiro actively refrained from facepalming. Keith always had a habit of making his crushes instantly hate him.

Thankfully, Allura stepped in. "Come on, guys. It's hot and we're all hungry. Let's go and get to know each other better with food in out bellies.

They went to the place Shiro saw in the video: Uncle Coran's Crab Utopia. It was run by Allura's actual uncle, Coran. They looked absolutely nothing alike, but Shiro kept his mouth shut. Keith was adopted into his family when he was seven and Shiro was twelve, so he knew better than most about not everyone looking alike.

(Granted, Keith's half Korean, and vary rarely do people who aren't Asian realize that Keith isn't Shiro's actual brother.)

They sat at a long table in the middle of the restaurant. He sat between Adam and Hunk, with Lance on the other side of Hunk. Across from him was Matt, sandwiched between Allura and Pidge, with Keith sitting beside her, across from Lance.

That was either going to go really good or really bad. He tried not to dwell on it.

Instead, he focused on the conversation in front of him, learning from Matt that he was his age and an aerospace engineer. He and Allura just got engaged a few months ago. Pidge, his little sister, was a genius who finished college two years early and was currently working on her PhD for mechanical engineering. She's just turned twenty-three earlier in the month.

"Happy belated birthday," he said, raising his water in a toast.

"Thanks." She raised her ten-packets-of-extra-sugar sweet tea in the air too.

Allura was from a different country—she wouldn't tell him where; just kept asking him to guess and shaking her head with a laugh at each of his answers—and not just that, she was an  _ambassador_  for that country, working part time at her uncle's restaurant, helping him with the paperwork.

"Shouldn't you be living in, like, Washington DC, then?" he asked frowning.

"It's easier to help Coran with his paperwork if I'm living here."

She didn't elaborate any more on the subject.

Hunk was Lance's roommate and oldest friend, dating back to middle school. He was actually a chef, working at Uncle Coran's, who surfed on the side.

"But I want to work somewhere else…with less seafood. Sorry, Allura."

She shrugged.

He continued, "Shay, my girlfriend, is an architect working in New York right now. We're planning on moving in together once she's settled, but I've been applying to jobs left and right there, and none have accepted me."

"Yet," Pidge added, her eyebrow raised.

Sighing, Hunk repeated, "Yet," as if it were something he and her argued about constantly.

Shiro frowned, trying to ignore Keith and Lance's increasing bickering—something about socks?

"Do you like to bake? Sweets, I mean," he asked.

Adam gasped dramatically, "Sweets? Hunk?  _No way_."

As everyone else chuckled, Hunk explained, "I  _love_ baking, actually. It's what I originally wanted to do, but no one would hire me here either. Finally, Coran did and, well…yeah," he shrugged.

"Well," he shifted, a bit uncomfortably. "I actually have a friend who owns a bakery up in New York. He owes me a favor, so I can ask him to interview you? I can only really guarantee an interview though, nothing else."

But everyone had begun buzzing with excitement.

"See!" Pidge gestured wildly. " _Yet_!"

"Who's your friend?" Hunk asked, practically jumping in his seat, though it was clear trying to refrain from actually jumping out, climbing on the table, and shouting as loud and long as he could.

"His name is Iverson." He barely managed to remember to drop the  _General_ before saying his name. "He owns the Galaxy Garrison Bakery shop, where—"

Matt gasped, standing out of his chair. "Where all their treats are space themed? I love that place! I go every day whenever I visit my parents!"

Hunk was just staring at him in shock, mouth completely agape.

"Wow, Shiro," Adam said, looking impressed. "You rendered Hunk speechless, which, isn't as hard to do for him as it is Lance, but that's still a miraculous feat."

"How does Iverson owe you such a favor, Shiro? If I may ask," Allura added, looking thoroughly impressed. Strangely, she spoke his name as though she knew him personally. Maybe she did, being an ambassador.

He glanced down at the table, wishing their waiter would interrupt them with their meals, but no, she didn't.

"Uh, well, I, um, saved his life," he said slowly.  _Don't focus on it. Just say what needs to be said and be done with it_. "When I was in the army. It was a couple years ago."

"Oh…"

The atmosphere shifted a bit as everyone suddenly seemed nervous. Keith and Lance's argument, which was now about dogs vs. cats, seemed deafening.

Shiro distracted himself by musing how, even though his brother was more of a dog-person, as indicated by Kosmo, his giant Kugsha dog, Keith would definitely be a cat if he were an animal. Lance, for all his love of cats, would definitely be a dog.

He must've said it aloud, because soon everyone at the table was laughing, wholeheartedly agreeing with him. Well, everyone except Lance, who'd flushed, seeming to be a bit ashamed at the argument he'd just been having, while Keith was glaring daggers at Shiro's head.

That's when their food arrived.

As they ate, the conversation decreased, but Adam kept asking small, polite things, like if Shiro liked his crab cake sandwich, and if he wanted to split dessert, and would he like to catch a movie sometime next week?

Of course, Shiro said yes, yes, and definitely yes.

The ride home was mostly pleasant. Keith's sour mood only damned the atmosphere a teeny, tiny bit.

"So, what do you think about Lance?" he asked when they were finally alone.

Keith snorted. "Lance? You mean that loudmouth know-it-all who flirted with our waitress and wears mismatched socks, which you know, you  _know_ , is the worst thing a grown human being can fucking do—" well, now Shiro knew why they were arguing about socks "—and thinks cats are superior to dogs, which is so messed up, who sees a loyal, loving dog and just goes, nope, instead I want a tiny, fluffy demon who will claw me and mess up my curtains, like who the fuck wants that, and,  _and_ , this is the guy who doesn't  _do his research_  so that he doesn't end up telling someone during his  _live stream_  that he wants to fuck them until they scream his name in Portuguese, instead of it being something like 'I think you're awesome' or whatever that commenter said, you mean  _that_ fucking Lance, Shiro? What do I think about  _him_?"

He blinked. Keith was breathing hard, scowling so deeply Shiro wondered if his face would get stuck like that.

"Wow…" he said slowly, waiting for Keith to look him in the eye. "I can't believe you went from a crush to being in love so quickly."

" _What_?" he screeched. "No way!"

Shiro shrugged. "Uh-huh. Sure."

"He's not even cute!"

He couldn't stop his eyes from rolling. "So, you  _didn't_ check him out when he came running up to us at the beach today?"

"Who the hell would fine  _that_ attractive?" A blush was spreading from his cheeks down to his neck.

With a raised eyebrow, he continued, "And you  _don't_ watch his YouTube videos, one of which is him accidently telling someone live that he wanted to fuck them because he didn't Google Translate one of his followers' comments?"

Keith's face turned even redder. "It—It just came up on my sidebar!"

"And you  _didn't_ —"

"Nope, I didn't!" he shouted, turning around and storming off to his room.

Shiro rolled his eyes at the theatrics. His ever-stoic little brother could turn into the biggest middle school drama queen, and it would be funny if he hadn't potentially ruined his chances to get with a really great guy.

"Yeah, I'll admit it," Shiro had told his therapist a few weeks ago. "I totally want Lance as my brother-in-law, and I've just been trying to find ways to get Keith onboard. It might not be the most productive way to spend my time, but it's fun and doesn't involve col, midnight showers because I woke up from another nightmare.

(His therapist had chuckled softly at that.)

Shiro was only partly surprised when, during his next lesson, Keith actually came inside.

It was all he could do to hide his smirk. He barely contained his laughter, when he saw Lance do a double take and completely wipe out on the pool deck, which really shouldn't have been slippery so early in the morning, but that was his excuse nonetheless.

Adam was in his office, clutching his stomach he was laughing so hard.

"Well?" Lance asked when he and Shiro were in the water. "Aren't you coming in,  _Keith_?"

"What? No, why would I—"

Smirking, Lance interrupted with, "Well, at dinner you were saying how easy my job is, being in the water all day…"

"I mean, it is," he mumbled, but it was so early that there was almost no bite to it. Louder he said, "I don't have my swimsuit."

Lance hummed. "Bring it next time."

And Keith actually did.

He also totally ate his words.

"How do you do that for so long?" he gasped, gesturing to Lance treading water without any floatation device.

Lance shrugged, not even out of breath. "I mean, I've been surfing since I was, like, eight, and was a lifeguard since I was fifteen, so…"

As the weeks progressed, their heated arguments were turning into friendly banter, and while Shiro was thrilled they were finally getting along, especially since they were both completely head-over-heels for each other, he did not want to watch his baby brother's weird foreplay that would eventually lead to him and his swim instructor fucking. No one was entirely certain when that would happen, but there were bets. Shiro was gunning for them being oblivious for another few months, and had they waited one more week, he would've won.

It finally happened at the It's Officially Summer According to the Calendar party he was hosting. It was also an Adam and I are Officially Together After Two Months of Going on Dates party, but that was just a happy coincidence, really.

It had been a little over half a year since he started working with Lance, and about two months since he had meet Lance and Adam's other friends. Since Keith and Lance had met.

Their tiny apartment probably couldn't fit all the people that were invited, but since Keith lived on the ground floor, they utilized the extra space in the backyard.

Hunk and Shay came with baked treats and lots of hugs, since Hunk was going to be moving to New York at the end of the month.

Matt and Allura brought lots of alcohol, some of it in a language Shiro didn't know existed. He snuck some pictures to Google later, hoping then he could figure out where Allura was from. (Spoiler: Google said the language didn't exist.)

Lance and Pidge arrived with all sorts of games, like Twister and cards and Monopoly.

Adam had been at the place for hours already, helping cook and clean…and making out with Shiro when Keith wasn't looking. They only got caught twice, which considering the amount of times they made out, was impressive.

As it got darker and the mosquitos came out, everyone moved inside, already feeling tipsy from their drinks. Shiro put on a movie that had been requested by Pidge, Matt, Shay, Lance, and Keith, but it wasn't until it was nearing ten that he realized he hadn't seen Keith nor Lance for a while  _and_  they'd all forgotten to turn the music down too, which made a lot more sense why the music didn't away go with the scene on screen.

As he strolled down the hall, wondering how many complaints he was going to get from their neighbors, he peeked into Keith's lit room and saw something on the bed.

At first, he was sure it was a giant, deformed monster. But then he heard someone moan out " _Fuck, Lance_ ," and as the real picture became clear, he's ashamed to admit it took him way too many seconds longer than it should've for him to fully understand what was going on.

Lance was sitting on Keith's bed, completely shirtless, while Keith was straddling him, also shirtless, but also…pantless? Their clothes were strewn across his floor and Keith's bedside table drawer was open.

Shiro's brain clicked into soberness just as Keith arched, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Quickly pressing himself against the wall, Shiro desperately tried not to think about what his little baby  _brother_ was doing in his room with Lance  _right then_. He knew what was happening, he knew—hell, he had even  _hoped_ —that it would happen, but that didn't mean he wanted to actually  _see it_.

"Hey," Adam whispered, coming out from the shadows. "The movie's done and everyone's leaving. Hunk wants to know where—"

"God, Keith," Lance's voice interrupted. It was low enough that if it hadn't been for the fact that they were standing right beside the door, they wouldn't have heard it. "Fuck, you're so  _tight_!"

Pulling a face that was a cross between sheer horror and complete amusement, Adam grabbed Shiro's hand and pulled him back towards the front door.

"Found them," he said to the group. "Allura, Pidge: you two won the bet."

For a moment, no one said anything, but then, they all busted out laughing.

"Fucking  _finally_ ," Pidge staged whispered as they filed out, heading towards their respected cars.

"Would you like to come back to mine?" Adam asked quietly once everyone was gone. "We don't have to do anything," he assured. "But I don't think you're going to want to go back in there for a while."

"Yeah," Shiro said, smiling. "I'd like that."

They held hands in the car, laughing softly at the absurdity of Keith and Lance's relationship. When they got to Adam's apartment, they crawled into the bed, snuggling closely to each other.

"I'm glad I met you," Shiro whispered.

"I'm glad I met you."

It wasn't  _I love you_ , Shiro wasn't ready for that yet. But it was a promise. One day, they could. One day, they will.

One day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The After Events of chapter 1, predominately featuring Klance. Starts a few minutes before Shiro found his brother and Lance getting their drunk freak on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The more Mature part of this fic is now here! It's lowkey bordering Explicit, but just barely. Also, it's a bit dubious consent because they're both drunk, but they also both want it sober, they were just too stupid to realize it.
> 
> \--
> 
> Edited: 9/25/19  
> I decided I didn’t like the way I originally ended this, so I expanded it a bit more and changed that one lowkey cringy line. Idk why I even wrote it and posted it because it was...not my best haha. Hope you enjoy! <3

"What are you doing?"

The alcohol swirling in Keith's stomach wasn't enough to made him drunk, but he was definitely more that than tipsy right now. Judging by the way Lance was swaying, he was too.

"This isn't the bathroom," he said, looking at the photos on the wall.

"No, this is my room."

Lance McClain was in Keith's room and all he wanted to do was push him down on the bed and kiss him until they forgot the world around them existed, but he couldn't do that. No, he couldn't have his celebrity crush bent over or bending him over any which way because Keith had to go and completely fuck up their first meeting, like he always seemed to do, with people he liked. Most of his relationships stemmed from the other person coming up to him and asking him out, never the other way around. Instead of Lance wanting to kiss him, he probably wanted to punch him cuz he hated him so much or something.

Shiro said he didn't, but Shiro didn't know what he was talking about.

"Did you take these yourself?" Lance asked, staring at the photography.

He shifted, slightly uncomfortable. Was Lance about to make fun of them?

"Yes," he said quietly. "I took them."

"They're  _amazing_."

Oh…that wasn't what he expected at all.

"Th-Thanks…"

The conversation died. He wanted to say more, but what could he even say? Well, he does know what he could say. Technically. He'd been thinking about how to say it for weeks now. But he was too sober then. He's not now.

"Hey, Lance?"

"Hmm?" His wide, blue eyes were still glued to the photographs.

"I actually really like your videos."

"Huh?" Now his wide, blue eyes were glued to Keith.

Blushing, he barreled on. "I've…I've actually been watching you for a couple years now. Your YouTube channel. You, uh… You helped me get through a lot of shitty things, like my company almost going under and Shiro nearly…" he swallowed. "Nearly dying… I actually… I didn't mean to sound so mean that first day, but you're just… God, Lance, you're really hot and funny and caring and sweet, and I always fuck up relationships that I want and—"

"Relationships?" Lance repeated. Somehow, his wide, blue eyes were even wider. His cheeks were tinged with red. And he was smiling, but it was almost shy. "Keith, do you want a relationship with me?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly, but at the crestfallen look on Lance's face, he quickly added, grabbing Lance's hand, "But I know I want you. I really want you. I want to kiss you and touch you and—"

Lance was on him. Kissing him, touching him, pressing into him…carding his fingers through his hair and tugging slightly.

" _Lance_ …" he moaned.

And then, suddenly he was naked. Well, no not suddenly. He remembered lifting his arms and not kissing Lance for a moment. He remembered Lance sucking on his neck while his pants were unbuttoned and unzipped, and he remembered shucking them and his boxers off, but as Lance stared him up and down, looking positively  _hungry_ , he forgot all that in a heartbeat. He was living in the moment, and right now, he wanted Lance to be living in him.

"God, Keith, you're…" Lance couldn't seem to finish.

He wanted to tell Lance to take off his clothes too, but instead he asked, "Why did you stop touching me?"

Lance was back on him in an instant, pressing him against the wall near the door, his long fingers gripping at his bare ass, and this time, Keith managed to get Lance's shirt off.

"I want you too," Lance said in between kisses. There was going to be a lively bruise on his neck. "You're so hot too. And protective, god, it's so hot how—"

"Less talking, more fucking," he gasped, reaching blindly for the lube and condoms he kept in his nightstand, which was thankfully right beside his legs.

Finally, Lance pulled back, his lips red. "Are you sure? We're really drunk. I think."

"If we're sober enough to say that, we're sober enough to fuck," Keith said, already uncapping the lube.

He's not entirely sure how they ended up on his bed, him straddling Lance, who was finger-fucking and kissing and  _spanking_  him, but he really didn't care. He'd wanted this for so fucking long and apparently Lance had too.

And then finally,  _finally_ , he was sinking onto Lance's cock.

"Fuck, Lance," he moaned, hunched inward, the feeling of being so incredibly full almost unbearable. For a moment, nothing happened.

But then Lance was gripping his hip and sucking on his nipple and rubbing at his thigh, and it was  _so. fucking. great_. Keith arched, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, and he finally started to move his hips.

And holy shit it was the best feeling ever.

But he brought his fist to his mouth because his brother and friends were all outside the door, and he didn't want them to hear him, hell no.

Lance seemed to have the same thought because his lips hadn't left Keith's body, and his hands are squeezing his hips just a tad too tightly, but finally, Lance moaned out, "God, Keith…fuck, you're so  _tight_."

He nearly came from that, he really did.

It wasn't until Lance started stripping away at Keith's cock that he finally did come; Lance followed soon after. They collapsed on the bed in a sweaty, sticky mess and curled into each other, gently petting the other's face, hair, arms, whatever they could touch. They fell asleep, pressed into each other, and didn't wake up again until the morning.

Which was not as awkward as it probably should've been.

It wasn't awkward at all.

But it was sticky and gross and they quickly decided that before anything else, they needed to shower. And they might as well save on water by going together… Plus, it didn't seem that Shiro was home, so when they headed to the bathroom, smirking and teasing and laughing, they didn't hush their voices.

" _Faster_ , Keith," Lance moaned loudly, gripping at Keith's shoulders while he fucked him against the shower wall. "Fuck, yes, right there,  _oh god_!"

By noon, it was Keith moaning again, his face pressed against his pillows while Lance's face was pressed between his cheeks.

It's as if they were making up for all the time they wasted bickering at each other the past few months.

After lunch, Keith found himself pressed against the wall, chest heaving into the cool surface, as Lance gripped his hips and slammed into him, hitting that spot over and over and over and over and—

" _L A N C E_!"

He could really get used to this. Especially since Lance actually helped him clean up afterward, instead of just leaving. He cleaned the wall while Lance washed the floor, where his cum had dripped out of Keith's ass, cracking jokes and swapping embarrassing older sibling stories.

An hour later, Keith sunk to his knees, spread Lance's legs apart, and had Lance begging and writhing and gasping within the minute.

The fact that they could've been doing this months ago was almost a laughing matter. Almost.

When Shiro came home later that evening, dropped off by Adam, Keith and Lance were laying on the couch completely fucked out and watching the movie scenes they'd missed from last night. They were cuddling in Keith's boxers, Keith on his back with one arm behind his head while Lance lay partially on his chest, his hand absentmindedly stroking Keith's hip. Their clothes (and Keith's sheets) were in the dryer.

"I told you," was all Shiro said before heading over to his room, leaving them alone again.

Laughing, Lance stretched his neck, moving up to capture Keith's lips in another kiss.

"Hunk and Pidge told me," he whispered. "I can't believe I didn't believe them."

"We know now, and that's all that really matters." Keith brushed the hair out of Lance's eyes.

They had to rewind the last ten minutes of the movie a second time since they'd gotten so caught up in kissing again.

A few months later, Lance released three new videos featuring a very special guest.

The first: STORY TIME! MY BF AND I THOUGHT WE HATED EACH OTHER AT FIRST

The second, a week after the first: A DAY IN THE LIFE FT. MY MULLET BF

Then a just a couple days after the second, the third: TEACHING MY BF HOW TO SURF

The last video quickly became his most popular, surpassing original parody song about socks, that had somehow become a meme, and even his Portuguese disaster video, which Adam still didn't know about somehow.

Lance had no idea how a shaky video of him and Keith on his surfboard gained him over a thousand new subscribers. The first half of the video, they aren't even standing! It consisted of mainly him holding onto Keith's waist and laughing quietly as he freaked out with each ocean wave. They'd been out there for almost an hour (only three minutes in the video) before Keith finally could stand without falling over. And really, that had been it. Keith never actually  _surfed_ , and yet Lance suddenly became a whole lot popular on the internet.

Shiro said it was because they were sickeningly cute. Adam and company agreed.

The first time he heard them being quoted—"I don't think I can do it…" "It's just water, dude." "People drown, Lance!"—he nearly had a heart attack. Keith had stumbled beside him, dropping his donut in shock.

With more popularity came more trolls and haters, who complained that Lance wasn't teaching his boyfriend the proper way to surf. Which, yes, was technically true, but he'd addressed that in his closing monologue. People would know that if they watched his entire video, like you're supposed to, and not just parts of it. When he actually taught Keith the basics of surfing, which he did off camera, he started on land like you're meant to, but, as he addressed in the video, watching someone practicing surfing on dry land wasn't as fun as actually being out in the ocean, which was what  **MermaidLanceNoPants**  was known for: fun, ocean things.

However, if he was going to be honest, the video he's most proud of will never be posted on YouTube. His favorite, most treasured video was of Shiro and Adam's wedding. He edited it to include the photographs Keith and the wedding photographer took too.

His second favorite video was the sex tape he and Keith made, where they fuck the shit out of each other, but Keith would always cover his mouth, cheeks red, the moment he figured out what Lance was about to say.

"You're no fun," Lance would tease.

"Only I get to know about the sounds you make," Keith would whisper back, his breath hot against Lance's ear.

It was no surprise to anyone when they announced their own wedding date, a year after Shiro and Adam's wedding.

Even though he didn't take the footage, that video quickly became Lance's number one favorite. How could it not? It was his _wedding_ day!

He’d been in a pristine white tux, his ruby red undervest and cuff links being the only splash of color amidst a sea of white. Keith had also been wearing a white tux, but his splash of color had been sapphire blue.

“For your eyes,” he’d said.

(And then, he had to immediately add, his voice breathless yet firm, as he hissed out, “Lance! We are walking down the aisle in _ten_ minutes; you can’t blow me _right now_!” since Lance had gone from kissing him passionately to dripping to his knees within ten seconds of hearing Keith’s words. Obviously, Lance disagreed with the statement, but he managed to restrain himself.)

(Barely.)

The ceremony itself had only lasted a little under an hour, but the reception...that seemed to have gone on for eons. In a totally amazing, wonderful, fucking awesome way!

There’d been laughter and dancing, kisses and tears, cupcakes and beer, and there’s been so, so many stories—the sweet, the funny, and the downright dirty—shared during the round of toasts. With Keith’s consent, Lance posted a few of those stories on his YouTube channel, appropriately calling the video MY HUSBAND AND I REWATCH OUR WEDDING TOASTS - FUNNY.

His followers loved it! Half their comments were about how cute they were and the other half was about how they wanted to have a wedding as romantically aesthetic as theirs.

And was indeed super romantic with their dazzling, white Christmas lights and massive flower bouquets and scenic ocean view. It was truly the best wedding of the century, hands down, no ties, no redos. (Sorry, not sorry, at Shiro and Adam.) Lance couldn’t have dreamed of a better wedding planner, a better venue, a better DJ.

And it would’ve been fucking _impossible_ to dream up a better husband.

“Thanks, I think,” Keith had laughed out, leaning forward to plant a chaste kiss on Lance’s lips.

The kiss he gave Lance hours later though, when it was just the two of them, off on their honeymoon, alone in their bedroom, was anything but chaste. Had anyone saw it...well, let’s just say that they’d definitely need some new underwear.

And, technically, anyone _could_ see it... If they knew where to look. Hidden in plain sight, added to the end of their wedding video, was a new sex tape.

Their first honeymoon night had been a night to be remembered, and Lance remembered it every anniversary, every birthday, and most Valentine’s Days. It was filled with roses and candles, handcuffs and blindfolds, spreader bars and silk ropes. Neither of them could walk properly during their honeymoon days, but they couldn’t bring themselves to care because oh, those sweet honeymoon nights... The nights where Lance would arch, exposing his long neck, perfect for biting, and moan low in his throat. The nights where Keith would let out the most delicious, desperate whine and quiver from the overstimulation.

“I love you,” they would whisper, the words etched into their ears, lips, hair.

“I love you,” they would moan, the words echoing across their stomach, thighs, cocks.

“I love you.”

That video was definitely never, ever going on YouTube. That was just for them.

“I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read all of this and I somewhat amused you, please at least comment a "XD" or a "<3" or a "!!!" if you liked this, but don't know what to say. Thanks a bunches! <3


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